Malachi Richardson cut across the baseline, curled around a Tyler Lydon off-ball screen and caught a pass. Richardson reset the offense out toward halfcourt along the sideline.

Then, with 4:45 left and Syracuse facing a four-point deficit, Richardson powered through the teeth of North Carolina’s defense, switching hands with the ball and laying in a basket to cut that UNC lead in half.

Richardson’s second-half scoring on Saturday had a knack for the dramatic. His first shot was a long, uncontested 3-pointer to end an 8-5 Tar Heels run that started the half. His second cut a three-point lead to one. And his final bucket gave the Orange a last-gasp chance at a comeback against the No. 6 team in the country.

“I’m a confident kid and I believe in what I do,” Richardson said. “I’m always going to play hard no matter what. Whether the ball is going in the basket or not. I work hard. I know I can do it. That’s where my confidence comes from.”

Before Syracuse played Miami on Jan. 2, Richardson hit a cold stretch in which he made 10-of-57 from behind the arc over a nine-game span. In the three games since, all against Atlantic Coast Conference competition, Richardson has made 15 of his 27 attempts from long range. As point guard Michael Gbinije struggled and consistency on offense was tough to find from others, Richardson experienced a breakout for the free-falling Orange (10-7, 0-4 ACC).

The freshman, who had a career high in assists (five) on Saturday and a career high in rebounds (nine) the game before, will have a chance to continue to carry Syracuse on offense when it hosts Boston College (7-8, 0-2) on Wednesday in the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.

“He’s improved,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “I think he’s become a better player and I think he still has a big upside. There’s still a lot of things that he can to get better. He’s having a tremendous year.”

 

 

Richardson had his first bad game of the season against Elon on Nov. 21. He said afterward that he compensated by attacking the rim. When Syracuse defeated then-No. 18 Connecticut in November, Richardson said he’d played his “worst brand of basketball” by going 1-of-4 from the field, turning it over twice and committing three fouls in the first half. When he made none of his 11 attempts against St. John’s less than a month later, he said to reporters after the game that he knew shots would eventually fall.

He’s owned up to his freshman season struggles every time they’ve manifested themselves. But with Syracuse hanging on by a thread against the nation’s current No. 5 (UNC) and No. 8 (Miami) teams, it’s largely been due to Richardson’s renaissance. When Gbinije shot 0-of-7 from 3 against Miami, Richardson shot 5-of-6. When Gbinije again scored just 10 points against the Tar Heels, 16 from Richardson proved to be clutch.

It hasn’t been enough to beat the best teams, but it’s enough to make a statement.

“We don’t look at Mali as a freshman now,” Trevor Cooney said. “He’s played enough minutes in enough big games. We have the trust in him and the faith in him to go out there and make plays. We believe that he can do it and he’s done it.”

Published on January 12, 2016 at 7:17 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3